"Secrets"

"Pssssst, have I got something for you!" Here are a couple of tips that will make your life easier and your plants prettier! I'd like to thank Sharon J. for sharing this article with us!!!

Ah, yes, we all have secrets. What prompted my writing about secrets is that at our last local club meeting Barb told us a few things that she does with her plants.

Use straws to move the leaves into position.

Lift the leaves rather than a bloom stalk to raise it above the foliage because bloom stalks break off easier than leaves.

Mark the pots with different colored labels so that you know when they need to be replanted rather than having to look for a date written on the label.

Use Yard Glove on your hands to act a a "glove" before working with a lot of soil. Use it under your finger nails too.

Use cheap acrylic blankets as "mats" for mat watering. Wash them several times to remove sizing and cut them to fit the trays.

Here are some of the things that I like to do and use:

Use beverage straws to make which plants are for sale. It's a constant reminder of which ones I want to sell.

Use old pantyhose to tie up plants. I bring the string around the back of the stake, then to the front and cross over to the plant. Bring the string around the back of the plant and cross over again before going to the back of the stake where it is tied in a know. It forms a "T" between the stake and the plant. I do this in the garden too. The plant never rests on the stake that way.

Use hairpins to hold down suckers when they are removed from the parent plant. It helps to get it rooted. And yes, they are still available in the stores.

I use many thing to clean my hands including denture cleaners, make-up remover and lemon juice.

Use landscape fabric on the top of the blanket mating. Put the "hole" side down on the fabric and be sure to cut it a tiny bit larger than the mat. It prevents algae from forming on the mat. When it gets dirty, just throw it in the washer. This was a suggestion in the AVM by Bill Pawee.

These are just some of the secrets that we have. They are now no longer "secrets" but simple things that we can do to make growing easier. Do you have any "secrets" to share??? Leave them in the comment section!